Happy Father's Day, Jack
by Neuropsych
Summary: (COMPLETE)The time has come for Shawn to learn who his father is, but will it change his relationship with those he loves most? Rated for possible language, but probably nothing more.
1. 01

Happy Father's Day, Jack A.K.A: Revelations  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own SG-1 or any of those people in the SGC. However, I do own Shawn, Jaffer, Dotty, and James. (And any of the other original people I might bring into this story.  
  
Author's Note: This chapter will be a short one, but don't worry, they won't all be.  
  
And so we begin...  
  
..........  
  
"Hey, Jack."  
  
O'Neill looked up from what he was doing when Daniel stuck his head in the door of his office.  
  
"Daniel."  
  
"Want to go get something to eat?"  
  
"No, thanks. I'm not hungry."  
  
"Want to go get something to drink?"  
  
O'Neill shook his head.  
  
"What are you doing tonight?"  
  
"I'm not sure. Probably just going to stay home and spend time with Jaffer."  
  
"Why don't the two of you come over?"  
  
"To your place?"  
  
Daniel shrugged. "Why not?"  
  
"Because the last time we were there, Jaffer chewed up your Chinese icon thing, and then threw up on your papyrus scroll?"  
  
"That was a long time ago. He's probably over that stage by now. What do you say?"  
  
Jack shook his head.  
  
"Thanks, anyways, Daniel. I think I'll pass."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Daniel closed Jack's door behind him, and Jack leaned back in his chair and pulled the picture he'd been looking at out from the desk drawer he'd stashed it in when he'd heard Daniel's voice. With a sigh, he went back to what he'd been doing: staring at it and thinking about what might have been.  
  
...................  
  
"Any luck?"  
  
Daniel almost jumped out of his skin when Fraiser joined him in the hallway, but he shook his head.  
  
"No. I even asked him to come over."  
  
"And he still said no?"  
  
Daniel nodded, not trying to hide his concern.  
  
"How much longer is Sam going to be gone?"  
  
"She won't be back until Monday." It was Friday, then, so another three days.  
  
"He looks awful, Janet."  
  
"I know."  
  
Of course she knew. She was aware of everything that involved the health of the people around her, and Jack O'Neill had definitely been looking off- kilter the last few days. At first, she'd simply attributed it to the fact that Sam Carter was off-world with her father, working on some Tok'ra technology that they'd requested her help with and Janet had assumed Jack was missing her company.  
  
But whatever it was, it was more serious than that. If Jack were lonely, he wouldn't be turning down company. Especially Daniel's, since Daniel was one of the few people Jack actually enjoyed spending time with away from the base.  
  
She'd invited him to her house. Telling him that Cassie would love to see him – playing the kid card – but Jack had turned her down as well. He didn't give a reason, he'd just politely declined. Like he had with Daniel. Whatever it was, he didn't want company.  
  
Hammond had noticed. Teal'c had noticed. Everyone who knew Jack well knew something was wrong, but he clammed up tight when anyone asked him if something was wrong, and his normally expressive eyes were as bleak as his expression. The only person he wanted around him was Jaffer, and Janet had walked in on them once in Jack's office, O'Neill with his arms wrapped around Jaffer, and his face buried against the black fur, obviously seeking comfort from the only person that wouldn't continually ask him what was wrong.  
  
The problem was; something was wrong, and no one knew what it was, or what to do about it, and the only person that might be able to get him to open up and talk about it was Sam, and she was gone. 


	2. 02

He wasn't used to feeling this uptight. Yeah, he lived on the edge a lot when he was out in the field – or off-world on a mission – but that was different. That was life or death, where his senses had to be on edge or he and those that he loved could die. This was a different sort of being on edge. A kind he wasn't really all that familiar with, especially in the last couple of years, since he and Sam had finally managed to become an item, and he'd received Jaffer as what was probably the greatest present he'd ever get in his life. His life was settling a little – not a lot, but enough to make him more comfortable. And suddenly it was all changed by one simple statement uttered to him the evening Sam had went off-world to spend time with her father.  
  
'_I'm going to tell him, Jack._'  
  
Oh, God.  
  
There were a million things that could happen. And over the last couple of days Jack had considered all of them. All the bad ones, anyways. Shawn was twelve. He was a brilliant twelve, yes, but he was still a boy becoming a man, and that was a rough age on its own. Add to it the fact that he was going to find out some very difficult things about himself and the people around him, and Jack knew it had the potential to be a rough day. For Shawn, and those around him.  
  
Dotty knew Shawn better than anyone, Jack knew that. He knew that she'd chosen this week for a reason, although he hadn't asked what it was. All Jack had asked was if she wanted him to be there or not, and she'd told him no, because she said she wasn't sure exactly when it was going to happen. She would look for the perfect opening. School had just finished for the summer, which meant no Asgard lessons, either, and she'd have plenty of time to spend with her boy to wait for the moment to come. And until that happened, Jack would have to just wait to hear how things had gone.  
  
God, he wished Sam was there. She'd give him her perfect smile and tell him that everything was going to be all right. She'd start on about how much Shawn loved him, and how level-headed he was, and then she'd start in on the more complicated stuff, and he'd listen to it, because he loved her voice, and eventually she'd make him believe – at least for a minute – that everything was going to be okay.  
  
He sighed and looked up from the picture he'd been staring at. He couldn't stay in his office anymore that day. The walls were beginning to close in on him, and he needed to get some fresh air. And he needed Jaffer. The black lab was up in the kennels since Jack couldn't keep him with him every minute just so he'd have someone to cuddle with while he brooded over something he had no control over. Bad enough he'd been doing that constantly at home. Once Fraiser had caught him doing it at work, he'd forced himself to part with Jaffer's comfort at work so he wouldn't have to worry about her cornering him and asking – again – if something was wrong.  
  
He set the picture of Charlie back in his desk after a last, long look. Charlie. His perfect son who'd been so full of life and love. Jack had never had to worry if Charlie loved him. He didn't doubt that Shawn loved him at that very moment, but that could change once Dotty told him that everyone around him had been keeping secrets from him. Not little secrets, like the birds and the bees, or where his Christmas presents were hidden. These secrets were pretty big. Hey kid, you're half alien, half human. Mom's an alien. Dad's not the dad you think he is; your dad's the guy whose DNA was stolen by the aliens only a couple years ago and sent back in time with your mother to engineer your birth at the perfect time so you could meet the guy so he could advance your life in directions the aliens wanted it to go. Yeah, that would be a tough one to swallow, even with Shawn knowing what he knew.  
  
Who knew how the boy would react? If Dotty didn't, then Jack sure as hell didn't.  
  
He sighed again, and stood up. He'd go home, and wait until he heard something. Like he'd been waiting the last few days. Sitting by the phone, alone with Jaffer and his gloomy thoughts and scenarios.  
  
He turned off the lights and left his office, and headed down the hall for the elevator. And almost made it.  
  
"Colonel!"  
  
He sighed again, but this time it was silent, and he stopped in the corridor, waiting for Janet Fraiser to catch up to him.  
  
"Hi, Doc. What's up?" He put on the best face he could, but he knew she wasn't fooled for a minute. Her dark eyes looked carefully at his face, as though she were trying to get the answers she wanted directly from his mind – which would save them both a lot of trouble, but wasn't going to happen.  
  
"Colonel? Is everything all right?"  
  
He nodded, not meeting her eyes.  
  
"Everything's fine, Doc. Peachy."  
  
"Uh huh."  
  
She reached up and touched the back of her hand to his cheek and then forehead, checking for a fever. If he were sick, then she could at least confine him to her infirmary until she could wrangle the answers out of him. But his skin was cool to the touch. He moved his head slightly, away from her touch. He knew what she was doing, and while he appreciated that she was concerned, there was no way he was going to share what was going on with her, or anyone else.  
  
"I'm fine, Doc."  
  
"Is everything okay between you and Sam?"  
  
"Unless you've heard something I haven't." His lame joke fizzled. She didn't even crack a smile. Of course, he didn't, either.  
  
"No... Is she still off-world?"  
  
Now she was just digging. Jack wondered if she thought he missed Sam and was moping because of it. God, he wished that was all it was!  
  
"She will be until Sunday."  
  
"Why don't you come over, Colonel? Cassie and I can make you dinner."  
  
Jack shook his head.  
  
"Another time, Doc. Thanks."  
  
"You sure? We'd love to have you."  
  
He managed a smile this time, and it was a real one. He did appreciate the effort, but he couldn't be good company just then, and Cassie deserved better than a night of watching him be moody.  
  
"Nah. I'm going to go collect my walking disaster area and take him home. There's a game on."  
  
There wasn't a game on, and she knew it. Knew it because when he was lying about personal stuff, he was a terrible liar. Great in the field, bad in life. She gave up, though, knowing that he wasn't going to accept her offer of company, and he wasn't going to tell her what was wrong.  
  
"Maybe another time, Colonel..."  
  
Jack nodded, and the elevator door swooshed open.  
  
"Tell Cassie hi for me, Doc."  
  
He got in the elevator and avoided her gaze while waiting for the door to close. Which it finally did. Then he sighed again.  
  
Janet did, too. Stupid, stubborn man. What was going on with him? 


	3. 03

Author's Note: In reply to a question on a review: yes, Shawn is a well- known character in the Campers! Series, and if you haven't read Scion, you're not going to understand where Shawn came from, although I'll try to explain it a little in the story.  
  
..........................  
  
He managed to avoid anyone else on the way up to the surface.  
  
"Hey, little man..." Jaffer was already waiting for Jack when he reached the kennels. The black lab liked the people who ran the K-9 operation at Cheyenne Mountain, but he was more than ready to go by the time Jack arrived. He always preferred to be with Jack over anyone else.  
  
Jack let him out, and Jaffer gave him such an enthusiastic greeting that even the worries that had been nagging him for days seemed to melt away under that long, wet tongue and those cheerful brown eyes. He wrapped his arms around his dog, scratching all the spots that always needed scratching, and then thumped Jaffer's side, lovingly.  
  
"Let's go home."  
  
He stood up and headed for the parking lot, with Jaffer right at his side. Jack opened the door of the passenger side, and the dog jumped in, then watched as he went around and got behind the wheel. Someday Jack was certain Jaffer was going to ask to drive.  
  
"Are you hungry?"  
  
Dumb question! Jaffer wagged his tail as Jack rolled the passenger window down so Jaffer could stick his head out. He was always hungry. Jack knew it.  
  
"We'll stop and get a burger."  
  
Or two or three?  
  
Taking care of Jaffer kept Jack's mind nominally off other things, and he was grateful for it. O'Neill pulled through a burger place drive thru where his truck and the big black head that was sticking out the window were both well-known, and the voice over the intercom simply asked him if he wanted the usual.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
He pulled forward, put the truck in park at the window, and was promptly stepped on when Jaffer crossed over to look out the driver's side window so he could see what was going on.  
  
Jack ignored the fact that it hurt to have a hundred plus pounds of dog stepping on your upper thigh, and rested his cheek against Jaffer's side and watched while the lab flirted with the girl at the cashier's window. The brown eyes and good looks immediately melted her heart, and Jaffer was rewarded with a couple of vanilla wafers – little cookies that were fast becoming his favorite. The girl cooed over him and made small talk with Jack while they waited for his order to be cooked up, but eventually it was ready, and he paid for it, told Jaffer to say good-bye and waited for the lab to get out of his lap before he put the truck back in gear and headed for home.  
  
They pulled into the driveway, and Jaffer was quick to get out. The sooner they got into the house, the sooner he would get the lion's share of the burgers and fries Jack had ordered.  
  
Jack stopped long enough to get the mail, then opened the door and let himself and Jaffer into the house. The empty, lonely, house. He sighed again as he felt the worry overcome what little good mood he'd managed to obtain from watching Jaffer's antics, and the black lab looked up at him and whined softly, picking up the change in Jack's emotions easily. He was very much in tune with O'Neill, and Jack knew it.  
  
"Don't worry, little man," Jack said, taking the mail and the burgers over to the table and breaking out the burgers, which he started tearing into pieces that were safer for Jaffer to eat. "I'm fine."  
  
Yeah. Jaffer didn't buy that any more than Janet Fraiser had, and the black lab nudged him with his nose, obviously wanting to be cuddled and reassured. Jack scratched his ears with one hand, and tossed the ripped up burgers onto a plate with the other. He wasn't hungry, so he'd just ripped them all up for Jaffer. If he got hungry later, he'd have a hotdog or something. He probably had one in the fridge.  
  
Setting the plate down, he knew the food would distract Jaffer, and it did. The black lab started munching greedily, and Jack leaned against the wall and watched him with pride. He was big, and healthy, and the most incredible animal Jack had ever had the happy pleasure of knowing. And yeah, maybe he was a little spoiled – just a little – but he had a heart of gold.  
  
Shaking himself out of one of his favorite pastimes – Jaffer watching – Jack left the dog to his snack and headed down the hall. He wanted to change out of his uniform and get into something more comfortable.  
  
By the time Jaffer had finished his meal, Jack had showered and changed, and was sitting on the couch, next to the telephone. Waiting to find out if tonight was the night Dotty had chosen. Of course, it was the weekend now, so Jack had all night, and the next two days to wait. He started to reach for the remote, decided that he didn't want to watch TV, and leaned back and closed his eyes, allowing his mind to wander through the possibilities that he'd already gone over a million times.  
  
.................  
  
Sometime during the early evening Jaffer joined Jack on the couch. Jack draped his left arm over the warm body that was cuddled against him and Jaffer rested his head on Jack's thigh, giving him as much comfort as he could, even though the black lab wasn't exactly sure what was bothering him. He didn't have to know. He just had to be there.  
  
Jack had almost allowed himself to drift off to sleep as the two of them sat there like that, the warm reassuring presence of Jaffer and a long day almost enough to overcome the worry, when the phone rang causing both man and dog to jump in surprise at the loud sound breaking the gloomy quiet in the house. Jack reached for it.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Jack?"  
  
It was Dotty. And she sounded distraught, if Jack was any judge of things.  
  
"Dotty? Did you-?"  
  
"I tried, Jack," She said. "I didn't get much out though, before Shawn took off."  
  
"Took off?"  
  
"He's gone, Jack..." He could tell she was trying very hard to remain calm, but was beginning to lose control over her concern. "I got as far as telling him that James wasn't his real father, when he bolted. I don't know where he is or where he was heading..."  
  
"Did you call the police?"  
  
"They said they'd send out a notice, but that since he left on his own, he's not a missing person, he's a runaway..." There was a stifled sob.  
  
"Dotty, don't panic," Jack said, truly starting to panic himself. "I'll be right there, and I'll help you look."  
  
"You can't, Jack," she said. "I need you to be at home, in case he goes there."  
  
It was a real possibility.  
  
"Was he on foot?"  
  
"He took his bicycle."  
  
"Dotty, don't panic. Shawn's a level-headed kid, and I'm sure he'll get a grip and be home before you know it."  
  
There was a pause, and he could hear her taking a deep breath. She knew he was right, but she was a panicked mother at the moment, and they didn't always think straight.  
  
"We're going to go looking for him."  
  
"I'll keep an eye out for him, too, Dotty." Jack was doing some mental calculations, and even if Shawn were on his bicycle, it'd take him a while to get from his house to Jack's if he were actually coming his way. Jack would have time to go looking for him.  
  
"Call me if you hear from him." It was obvious she was in a hurry to get off the line, and Jack didn't hold her any longer.  
  
"I will, Dotty."  
  
She hung up, and he set the phone down and picked up his keys.  
  
"Come on, Jaffer." 


	4. 04

One benefit of the beginning of summer was that the sun set much later now. At 8:00 it was still very light out, and as Jack drove through the streets looking for the very familiar figure on his bicycle, he didn't have any trouble seeing the people around him, and he didn't have to use his headlights. He checked the park that was closest to his house – one he and Shawn and Jaffer frequented often, and then checked the local stores, asking around to see if anyone had seen the boy, but no one had.  
  
He was definitely worried, although he was trying very hard to suppress it. First of all, panicking wasn't going to do any good, and Jack knew it. More importantly, though, was the fact that Jack knew when he got worried, he tended to get angry at the source of his worry, and that was going to do even less good. There'd been a few times when Shawn – or someone else, for that matter – had done something foolish and had risked their lives doing it, and Jack had chewed them out without even thinking twice. Which hadn't fixed anything, of course. But it was the way he was.  
  
They drove around for an hour or so, about the length of time Jack had decided he'd give himself, then headed for home. He used his cell called Dotty's cell phone to see if she'd heard anything from Shawn – or the police who were supposedly out looking for him – but she hadn't seen or heard anything, and Jack hated to hear the worry in her voice. Maybe he _should_ have been with her when she told Shawn, whether she'd wanted him there or not. It might have kept the boy from taking off. Hindsight was 20/20 and all that. He asked her to call if he heard anything – again – and then hung up. A moment later, he pulled into his driveway and saw a very familiar bicycle laying in the middle of his front yard, and an even more familiar figure sitting on the front step, his head buried in his arms which were crossed over his knees.  
  
Relief that he was all right was immediately turned to anger that he'd managed to scare so many people who loved him, and Jack slammed the door far harder than necessary when he and Jaffer got out of the truck. Shawn looked up at the sound, and was buried under a greeting from Jaffer, who stuck his nose into the boy's hand, wagging his tail furiously and whuffling him joyfully.  
  
"Jaffer, _down_."  
  
It was Shawn's first indication that Jack was angry. Never would he have interrupted a greeting between boy and lab if he'd been in a good mood. Jaffer went over to Jack's side, and Shawn's tear-stained face looked up at the very angry Colonel as he stalked towards him.  
  
"_Are you out of your mind_?"  
  
He didn't stop to say hi. He didn't stop to make sure he was okay. He immediately yelled. Shawn knew Jack well enough to know that this meant he'd been worried – Jack's anger was always in proportion to his concern – but it didn't make the anger any easier to take. Especially since he was already having a rough day. He didn't answer. He couldn't think of anything to say. It didn't matter, though, since Jack still had plenty to.  
  
"Do you have any idea how _worried_ your mom and dad are?" His face was still hard, his eyes flashing, and his voice just below an actual yell. "They've been-"  
  
"He's not my dad..."  
  
Shawn's voice was soft, but it interrupted Jack as easily as if he'd screamed it. Not the volume, but the absolute misery in the tone. O'Neill's eyes softened as he took in the tears smeared all over the boy's face, the running nose that he'd obviously wiped on the sleeve of his shirt more than once and the truly haunted look in those oh so familiar eyes.  
  
"What?"  
  
Shawn sniffed, and shook his head.  
  
"My dad... I mean... James... he's... he's not my _real_ dad, Jack."  
  
Fresh tears welled up in Shawn's eyes, and the last dregs of Jack's anger faded immediately. He knelt down in front of the boy, and even though he expected to be chewed out some more, Shawn couldn't help but fall into Jack's arms with a sob.  
  
Jack sighed, and wrapped his arms around the boy's trembling body, picking him up a little and shifting so he was sitting on the step and Shawn was more or less in his lap – although he was getting a little big for Jack's lap. Shawn buried his face against Jack's chest, sobbing, and Jack held him tightly, giving him a chance to cry himself out for a few minutes, knowing that sometimes, you just had to cry. But Jack didn't want him to cry himself hysterical, so he didn't allow him a chance to weep for long.  
  
"Shawn..."  
  
The sobs quieted a little. Enough that Jack's soft voice could be heard, and the wet face turned from his now damp shirt to press against his neck.  
  
"Does it really matter?"  
  
There was a surprised hesitation in the sobs, and Shawn hiccupped.  
  
"Wh-what?"  
  
"Does it matter?"  
  
"He's not my _dad_, Jack!" Shawn's voice was higher than normal, and despite Jack's best efforts, it was slightly hysterical.  
  
"Do you love him less now than you did this morning?"  
  
There was a sob, and Shawn sniffed, loudly, although he was otherwise quiet, and Jack knew he was thinking that question through before answering.  
  
...............  
  
Shawn hadn't considered that. All he'd been thinking about were the horrible words his mother had told him only hours before. She'd come into his bedroom, looking a little nervous, and had asked him if he had a minute to talk. Of course he had. Shawn was always willing to spend time with his mother. He'd patted the spot next to him on the bed, and she'd sat down next to him, running her fingers lightly through his dark hair for just a moment. Then she'd opened her mouth, and had torn his heart out with a simple phrase. A blow she'd tried to soften, but had failed miserably.  
  
_'You need to know something, Shawn... James and I met after I was pregnant with you... he's not your biological father...'_  
  
She'd planned to say more. Shawn knew she had more to tell him, but he'd become terrified. Not by what she'd already told him, which was already so bad that he felt like he was having trouble breathing, but he was afraid that the next thing she was going to say was that she wasn't really his mother – as dumb as that might have sounded. He'd bolted. Ran out of his room and down the hall and out the door before she could say anything more. Had ignored her calling his name as he'd jumped on his bike, and finally pedaled so fast that he couldn't hear her calling his name anymore. Not over the pounding of his heart, the harshness of his breath, and the sobs that were already escaping, stealing his breath.  
  
He'd only had one place to go. The Asgard were gone for the summer – and besides, as much as he liked them, he wouldn't ever go to one of them for comfort. He headed the first place he thought of. The only place he even considered going, because he knew that Jack would fix it. Jack was the best, and he could fix everything. Shawn always felt better when he was with Jack, no matter how bad things got – and they'd been bad before – and even when Jack wasn't home when he got there, Shawn had never considered going anywhere else. He'd simply sat down on the step and waited for him to come home and take care of things. And cried while he'd waited.  
  
Sure enough, eventually Jack came home. He was angry, and he had yelled, but he'd also immediately held him when Shawn needed to be held. Then he'd asked something that Shawn hadn't even thought of. Did it change how much he loved his dad – James – just because he wasn't really his dad? His grip on Jack tightened as he debated that, but there wasn't really anything to debate – not even to himself.  
  
"No..." 


	5. 05

That was good for several reasons, and Jack couldn't help the feeling of relief that went through him at the simple word. No matter what was to come, he could only hope that Shawn felt the same way about Jack if someone were to ask him the same question once he knew the truth about his relationship with Jack.  
  
"Of course you don't," Jack said, softly, hugging the boy tightly for a moment, then letting him go and pushing him gently back from him so he could look at him and make sure he hadn't actually managed to hurt himself or something on the way from his house to Jack's.  
  
Shawn looked terrible. His cheeks were flushed and splotchy, and his eyes were puffy and red. Jack ran his hand along the boy's cheeks, trying to wipe away the tears but only managing to smudge them further. He was definitely going to need to wash his face.  
  
"James loves you, Shawn. Don't you _ever_ doubt that."  
  
Shawn hiccupped again, and nodded, but he wouldn't meet Jack's eyes. O'Neill didn't press the issue. He stood up and unlocked the front door.  
  
"Come on. You go wash your face, and I'll call your folks."  
  
"They're probably pretty mad, huh?"  
  
"They're _worried_," Jack corrected. He was the only one that got mad when he was worried. And he felt that irritation growing once more, although it wasn't anywhere close to the anger he'd felt earlier. "If you ever run off like that again..." He tried to think of something suitably vile, and came up blank. "I'll feed you to Jaffer."  
  
Shawn managed a weak smile, looking down at the dog because it was easier than facing Jack.  
  
"Go wash your face, Shawn. You look awful."  
  
Jack was already reaching for the phone, and as Shawn walked down the hall to the bathroom, he dialed Dotty's cell phone once more.  
  
"He's here."  
  
"Is he all right?"  
  
"Just upset, Dotty, but I think he'll be fine." He was a level-headed kid, after all.  
  
"We'll be right over."  
  
"We'll be here."  
  
Dotty hung up, and Jack sat down on the arm of the couch with the phone still in his hand and watched as Shawn came back down the hallway. The boy looked at the phone.  
  
"Did you call?"  
  
Jack nodded.  
  
"They're coming over."  
  
"I'm probably in a lot of trouble." Shawn said. He was already much calmer than he had been, although his face was still splotchy, and his eyes were still red.  
  
"Probably." Jack agreed. "What were you thinking?"  
  
Shawn shrugged, looking down at the floor.  
  
"Shawn?"  
  
He should have known Jack wouldn't allow that to be an answer.  
  
"I don't know, Jack. I guess... I just panicked."  
  
"Panicked?"  
  
Shawn nodded, looking down again.  
  
"What were you afraid of?"  
  
"It's dumb."  
  
"If it's something you're afraid of, then it's not dumb, Shawn," Jack said, reaching over and taking hold of the boy's arm and pulling him close. Unconsciously, he put him and Shawn in the same comfort position that he often used with Jaffer; the boy leaning against Jack, with O'Neill's arms around him.  
  
Jack hadn't seen Shawn looking so vulnerable in quite a while. He was normally such a self-confident boy, and usually so cheerful that Jack was often reminded of Jaffer when he saw the boy grinning at him. So he wanted to know what it was that had bothered Shawn, so they could talk it out and banish it. Of course, Jack was probably the _worst_ person in the world to talk about feelings with, since he tended to clam up at the slightest mention of his own feelings – unless he was talking to Sam, and even then it was like pulling teeth – but this time it was important enough that he had to make an effort.  
  
"What scared you, Shawn?"  
  
"You'll laugh..."  
  
Shawn rested his cheek against Jack's chest, listening to his heartbeat and the rumble of his voice when he spoke. He didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want Jack to know that he could be so dumb. Jack always said how proud he was of Shawn, but if he knew how dumb Shawn could be, he wouldn't be proud of him anymore.  
  
"Tell me..."  
  
Shawn turned his head so he was speaking directly into Jack's shirt.  
  
"I... _mumble... mumble... mumble_..."  
  
Jack looked down at the boy and shook his head, taking hold of Shawn's shoulders and pushing him back just enough to break contact with his shirt, but holding him tightly so he didn't think he was pushing him away.  
  
"Would you care to repeat that? In English this time?"  
  
Shawn looked over at Jaffer, unable to meet Jack's gaze, and bit his lower lip.  
  
"I was afraid she'd tell me she wasn't my mom..."  
  
"Ah."  
  
Shawn looked up at Jack, watching his face to see if he was going to laugh, but the brown eyes looking down at him were filled with understanding.  
  
"Pretty dumb, huh?"  
  
"No. Not at all."  
  
"So I ran away before she could say she wasn't..."  
  
"She is, Shawn."  
  
"I don't know, Jack." Shawn said, softly. "I know I don't look a lot like her, and everyone says kids look like their parents..."  
  
"Not all kids do." Jack said, hugging Shawn close for a minute. "I don't look much like my dad, and I don't look at all like my mom. I look like my grandpa."  
  
Jack stood up, letting Shawn go. "Sam or Janet Fraiser could probably explain this a lot better, but sometimes that kind of thing skips a generation, or even two. Heck, look at Jack and Jaffer. Jaffer looks just like Shadow, but Jack doesn't look at all like her. He's not even the same color, and we both know that they're brothers." They'd been there the day they were born, after all.  
  
"That true, isn't it?" Shawn said, looking at Jaffer, who was stretched out on the floor watching the two of them as they talked. "I guess I shouldn't have ran like that..."  
  
"No, you definitely shouldn't have." Jack agreed. "But I can understand why you did, and your mom and dad will understand, too."  
  
"I hope-"  
  
There was a knock on the door, and Jaffer lunged to his feet and hurried over, wagging his tail as he waited for Jack to open the door so he could see who had come to visit him. 


	6. 06

Since there were very few people that would come to Jack's house at that time of night, it was a sure bet that Dotty and James Adams were going to be at the door, and sure enough, when Jack opened it, that's who came through.  
  
"Is he okay, Jack?" Dotty asked, immediately, looking over O'Neill's shoulder into his house and seeing Shawn standing next to the couch, his face pale and his eyes red.  
  
Jack nodded, and moved aside so James and Dotty could move past him and into the living room, where they converged on Shawn, both of them asking him if he was all right, but neither scolding him like Jack had. After Dotty had reassured herself that her son hadn't done himself any injury, she left James and Shawn and went back over to O'Neill, who had stayed near the door to give them a little privacy.  
  
"What did he tell you, Jack?" She asked softly, looking over to make sure Shawn was distracted and in conversation with James.  
  
Jack told her what Shawn had told him, and Dotty shook her head. "I honestly didn't think it was going to be so hard to do this." She looked as distraught as Jack had ever seen her. "I don't know how he's going to react to the rest of it."  
  
"What are you going to tell him?"  
  
"Everything."  
  
"What about James?"  
  
"No. I'm not going to let him know." She looked at Jack, doubtfully. "It's not that I don't _trust_ him, it's just that I don't know how to tell-"  
  
"You don't have to justify it to me, Dotty," Jack assured her. "I agree that Shawn needs to know, but beyond that, it's completely your call."  
  
She nodded, looking back at Shawn and James once more, and Jack could see her face cloud with worry once more. No doubt she was thinking about how she was going to tell Shawn the rest of what she'd been planning on telling him. Jack looked over as well, following her gaze, and then he looked back at her.  
  
"Do you want me to give it a shot, Dotty?" He offered. He'd already decided that he should have been with her and hadn't. Because he'd chickened out and left it to her to do alone, instead just sitting by the phone and moping, waiting for her to do all the hard stuff then call and tell him it was done and all was well with the world. This time, he'd have an active role, if she wanted him to.  
  
To judge from the surprised look Dotty gave him, it was obvious she hadn't even considered asking him for help, and Jack realized just how difficult this whole thing was for her. She had to tell her son not only that he wasn't completely human, but that she wasn't human at all. And forget all that and try to explain exactly how Jack fit into the picture. Oh yes, that was a huge burden for one woman to carry alone.  
  
"I couldn't ask you to do that, Jack..."  
  
"Why not?" He shrugged. "I should be involved, since I am involved."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"The worst that can happen is he runs on me," Jack said, softly. "The difference is if he runs from me, I'll have Jaffer drag him down and bring him back like a runaway hamburger."  
  
She smiled, as he'd hoped she would, and Jack smiled as well.  
  
"Leave him with me tonight, Dotty. I'll try to explain it to him."  
  
It was her turn to shrug. Really, what was the worst that could happen? Look how badly she'd messed up what little she'd managed to get out.  
  
"If you're sure..."  
  
"Sure I'm sure." He gave her as confident a look as he could manage. "I could use the company, anyways, since Sam's off-world."  
  
"She left you alone on _Father's Day weekend_?" Dotty seemed surprised by this.  
  
"It just happened that way," he said, shrugging it off. "I don't think she even realized what day it was." Jack changed the subject, like he tended to do when a topic turned to him. "So do..." he saw Shawn and James walking over, and raised his voice a little, "Can I keep him, then?"  
  
Dotty gave him a slight smile, and shook her head.  
  
"Yes, Jack, if you're sure..."  
  
"Of course I am."  
  
He looked at Shawn, "I was just asking your mom if she minded me keeping you tonight, since Sam's out of town and I'd like the company. Are you interested?"  
  
Shawn smiled, nodding.  
  
Jack turned to Dotty and James, who had come up to stand next to his wife. "I'll bring him home sometime tomorrow, then."  
  
Dotty nodded, looking down at her son, whose clothes were dirty, and hair was messy.  
  
"Do you need me to bring him some clothes and-"?  
  
"Nah, he's left some things over here from other visits. What we don't have, we can improvise." It was only going to be for one night, after all.  
  
She knelt down and pulled Shawn into a hug. Normally the boy would roll his eyes and pretend that he was getting far too old for such affections from his mother, but this time he wrapped his arms around her and murmured something into her ear that only she heard. She nodded, and murmured something back, then let him go and stood up so James could repeat the process.  
  
"We'll see you sometime tomorrow, then," Dotty said as James let Shawn go.  
  
"Not too early." Jack reminded her.  
  
"Yes, Jack, I know. You like to sleep in on Saturday."  
  
He smiled and opened the door for them and he, Shawn and Jaffer walked them to their car, but the smile faded just a bit as they headed back to the house once Shawn's folks were gone. Should he wait? Should he just blurt it out? He understood exactly how Dotty must have felt earlier that day.  
  
"Are you okay, Jack?" Shawn asked, noticing the distracted look.  
  
O'Neill nodded, closing the door behind them.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."  
  
"About what I did?"  
  
"No. About why you did it."  
  
"I told my dad I was sorry." Shawn said, looking down at his sneakers. "While you were talking to mom, I mean. I apologized for making such a big deal out of something that isn't."  
  
That was the level-headed kid Jack had come to know and love. Shawn had only needed a small push in the right direction from Jack – in the form of one little question – and he'd managed to figure the rest of it out on his own. Then he'd faced the music, so to speak, and had admitted when he was wrong and had apologized to the person who'd most likely needed to hear it the most and as soon as he could.  
  
"Good." Jack hesitated, looking for the perfect opening to begin their own conversation, but couldn't think of one. "Want some ice cream?"  
  
"Yeah." 


	7. 07

Author's Note: This is old news for those of you that have read Scions but it's still worth reading, and I'm going to put it down in this story as well for a number of reasons. First of all, so that people who haven't read Scion will at least have an inkling of what happened, and second of all because Shawn's reactions to the story should be interesting to see as he's being told all this. (If you haven't read Scion, you really should. It's very interesting!)  
  
.......................  
  
They were sitting at the table only ten minutes later. Both of them had large bowls of chocolate ice cream, which Shawn was happily eating. Jaffer was occupied with his own bowl of vanilla, which left Jack free to brood just a little as he toyed with his ice cream. Luckily, Shawn didn't notice, and that gave Jack a chance to think about how he wanted to bring up the conversation he wanted to have.  
  
By the time they'd finished their ice cream and had rinsed the bowls out and left them in the sink, he just decided to tell Shawn the same way Dotty had told Jack.  
  
"Let's go into the living room, Shawn," Jack said, tossing their spoons into the sink as well and picking up Jaffer's thoroughly licked-clean bowl.  
  
Shawn sensed that Jack had something that he wanted to say. Jack wasn't usually all that quiet around him, and he hadn't said more than a dozen words the entire time they'd been eating their ice cream, which meant he was distracted.  
  
"Sure, Jack."  
  
They went in and sat down on the couch, and Jack gave Shawn an uncomfortable look that really made Shawn worried.  
  
"What's wrong, Jack?"  
  
Jack sighed, and reached out and scratched Jaffer's ear for a minute, collecting his thoughts.  
  
"What have the Asgard told you about the Ancients, Shawn?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"The Ancients," Jack repeated. "What do you know about them?"  
  
The boy shrugged. "They built the Stargates."  
  
"Anything else?"  
  
"They were part of the original alliance. Them and the Asgard and some other races. But they moved on, or left, or something."  
  
Jack nodded. It was a good enough grounding in knowledge that he wouldn't have to explain them.  
  
"Yeah, well, the Ancients met the Asgard at a time in their development when Thor's people were a lot like us Humans." Jack said. "They were a little more technologically advanced, but not a whole lot, and they were pretty arrogant, from what I've heard."  
  
"They're not arrogant, now."  
  
"No, they're not," Jack agreed, nodding. "I like the Asgard, and probably would have liked them if we'd have met them way back when, too, although we weren't around then. I don't think." He wasn't sure, and it didn't really matter, anyways. "But, even though they were pretty advanced, they weren't above making mistakes, and _apparently_ they made a doozy."  
  
"What?" Despite the fact that Shawn didn't have a clue why Jack was telling him this, he was interested.  
  
"I'm not sure," Jack said, shrugging. "I know it had something to do with their obsession to live forever."  
  
"They live a long time."  
  
"I know. But they also made a mistake somewhere, and they didn't see the mistake they'd made when they made it." Jack said, trying to remember exactly how he'd been told this story. Of course, he hadn't understood half of it at the time, and wasn't certain he did, now. "But the Ancients _did_ see the mistake, and they tried to tell the Asgard about it."  
  
"What was it?"  
  
"I don't know, Shawn," Jack told him again. "I wish I did." He let Jaffer go, and the black lab jumped up into his favorite chair, since the couch was taken. "But when the Ancients tried to tell the Asgard they'd made a mistake, the Asgard told them not to worry, they'd figure out a way to fix it, eventually."  
  
"Is that what Thor and the others want from me?"  
  
That was a million dollar question, since Jack still didn't have a clue what Thor and the others wanted from Shawn. But it was as good a bet as any that it had something to do with it.  
  
"Maybe. I'm not sure." Jack sighed. "But the Ancients decided that since the Asgard – their allies – had made this mistake, they'd try to figure out a way to help them fix it. A way that wouldn't be intrusive, since apparently the Ancients are like the Asgard in that respect; they don't force others to do what they want them to do. They just let them live their lives on their own."  
  
"Thor's made you do things..."  
  
"No, he's _asked_ me and the others to do things, but we could always have turned him down." Jack corrected. "It's not a _lot_ different, but it's a very important distinction. The Asgard won't force us to do anything, and the Ancients wouldn't force the Asgard to do what they told them to – for all they knew, the Asgard wouldn't have done it, anyways."  
  
Shawn nodded, still intrigued, although he still had no idea where this was going, and what it had to do with him.  
  
"So, they came up with their own idea. Their own possible solution to the Asgard problem, and they set about implementing it."  
  
"What'd they do?"  
  
"Well, the first part of it was already done," Jack said, fidgeting a little. He and Shawn hadn't really talked much about the birds and the bees, since Shawn hadn't shown any interest in dating yet, and he knew that Dotty and James hadn't covered all that much of that topic either. "Apparently, way back when, some of the Asgard people decided they liked some of the people from the Ancients, and they got married and had kids."  
  
He didn't actually know if they got married, but it was a lot better than telling the boy they just started breeding like rabbits.  
  
"They _interbred_," Shawn said, reminding Jack that he had a very good vocabulary, thanks to the Asgard implanting the English language directly into his mind.  
  
"Exactly." Jack said, nodding. "They had half Ancient, half Asgard kids."  
  
Shawn nodded.  
  
"I guess there weren't a lot of these kind of... arrangements," Jack said. "But there were some, and the blood of the two races was intermingled. Which was apparently step one of the Ancient's plan." He stopped, hoping he didn't have to get much deeper into that aspect. "With me so far?"  
  
Shawn nodded, again.  
  
"Okay. So the Ancient's were a heck of a lot smarter than anyone else in the universe. Probably smarter than anyone ever _has_ been. And they made these devices. They wanted to find specific... people. People who could use the device – who could activate it, I mean. People who were healthy, and weren't Goa'uld, and were... I don't know... _good people_, I guess. They were looking for a certain kind of person, and when that kind of person saw one of these devices, they'd be caught up by the device, studied to make sure they were what the machine was supposed to be looking for, and if they passed that test, they would have certain... memories... downloaded into their minds, while at the same time, the device would take a sample of their DNA."  
  
"Wow, that sounds like a crazy machine..." Shawn said, shaking his head. "I wonder if it hurts...?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What?"  
  
Jack shrugged. "We came across one of those devices a few years ago. And I got my head stuck in it."  
  
"Wow! Really?"  
  
Jack nodded, scowling. It wasn't so cool when you were living through it.  
  
"So it downloaded stuff into your head?"  
  
"Stuff that was designed to see if I was able to use the memories given to me. To see if I was advanced enough to use the memories to find the Asgard, since the Ancient's plan depended on us eventually meeting them. It also taught us – through me – about the Ancients. A race that we hadn't had any contact with, although we'd already met the Asgard by then."  
  
This was stuff Shawn had never heard before, and it was fascinating.  
  
"You _couldn't_ meet the Ancients, Jack," Shawn said. "Thor says they've all moved on to someplace else."  
  
"I know Thor says that, Shawn. But he's wrong. The Ancients didn't all move on. There are some still around, and a few of them are descendants of those few kids that were half Asgard, half Ancient." 


	8. 08

"Why would they stay?" Shawn asked. "Why didn't they go with the other Ancients?"  
  
"My guess would be they were still looking over their solution to the Asgard problem, Shawn. Remember, I told you that part of that solution was the fact that that some of them were half Ancient and half Asgard."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Well, these people – the mixed ones – they stayed with the Ancients and they... um... had kids with other Ancients, and not Asgard, so the next generation was a little less Asgard and a little more Ancient. And then those kids grew up and had kids with other Ancients... until they were a lot more Ancient than Asgard by the time they got down the road a ways. There was still Asgard in them, but most of their blood was Ancient blood." He frowned, realizing how badly he'd put that. "Did that make sense?"  
  
"Yeah. Sort of. They stayed with the Ancients, so they thinned the Asgard part out a bit."  
  
"But it's still there, apparently. Once you have something like that in your blood, it'd always there."  
  
Shawn nodded, then frowned.  
  
"But what does that have to do with that device you got your head stuck in?"  
  
Jack squirmed a little. Now he was getting to the personal parts. The parts that involved the people Shawn loved most – mainly his mom.  
  
"Well, remember I said that the device took the person's DNA when it scanned them?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"It took mine. Without me knowing about it."  
  
"Why would the Ancients want your DNA?"  
  
"Because the next part of their plan involved them mixing the DNA of one of the half Asgard, half Ancient people with the DNA of a Human. A human picked by their device as the best possible choice to carry on the next part of the plan."  
  
"You?"  
  
Shawn looked shocked.  
  
Jack nodded.  
  
"The machine collected my DNA and then... um... used it to..." Jack squirmed a little more, definitely way out of his comfort zone, now.  
  
"They mixed it with one of the half and half people?" Shawn hazarded.  
  
Jack nodded. "She became pregnant."  
  
"With _your_ baby?" Shawn's eyes were wide.  
  
Jack nodded.  
  
"So where is it?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"The baby? Your _baby_, Jack!" His face suddenly fell, as a terrible realization came upon him. "Was it your son?" He asked in a soft whisper. "The one... the one who... you know, shot himself?"  
  
Jack felt the familiar pang of loss, but he shook his head, realizing that Shawn was pretty far off the mark, but handling it a lot better than Jack had when he'd first heard the story. Of course, he didn't know his role in events, yet, so that might have made it easier for him.  
  
"No, Shawn. It wasn't Charlie." Jack said, just as softly. "I didn't know about this child, remember? The Ancients used their technology to send the pregnant woman back a little ways in time, just far enough back that she'd have her baby at a specific time, so he'd be the perfect age to meet me in the only place they could think of that was outside of the SGC..."  
  
"So you've met it?" Shawn asked. "The baby?"  
  
"He's not a baby, anymore, Shawn." Jack said, nodding. "Yes. I met him. Although when I first met him, I didn't know he was even related to me. I just thought he was this great little kid, who just happened to remind me of my own son. I didn't even realize he was related to me after I'd known him for a couple of years, although everyone else thought he sure looked a bit like me, and acted a lot like me when he was in trouble, or about to get into trouble."  
  
Shawn's eyes grew a little sad, although he didn't realize it.  
  
"You know who he is? And you've never let me meet him?"  
  
Was Jack ashamed of him? Was there a reason he hadn't introduced the two of them? Maybe Jack hadn't told Shawn because he didn't want Shawn to worry that things would change because of the other kid? He did mention that he'd only recently known the kid was related to him. Shawn hadn't ever seen Jack with any other kids, though, unless you counted some of the other kids that had been at camp with him when he'd met Jack. Maybe it was one of them? He thought about all the boys who had been in China that year, but none of them looked all that much like-  
  
Jack reached out and rested his hand on Shawn's head, gently, reacting to the hurt he suddenly saw in those very expressive brown eyes.  
  
"Hey... don't look so stricken, Shawn," Jack said, softly. "There's a very good reason that I haven't introduced the two of you."  
  
"What reason?" Shawn couldn't help but feel hurt. "You could have trusted me to keep the secret, Jack... I never would have told anyone."  
  
"Everyone I care about already knows, Shawn. Sam knows, Daniel knows, Teal'c, Janet Fraiser and General Hammond all know. Even your mom knows."  
  
"My _mom_ knows? _She's_ met him?" Now he really felt excluded, and maybe that hurt was turning into a little anger of his own. "How could you keep me in- "  
  
"Shawn." Jack interrupted before he could say anything more. "Your mom knows, because it's her son. She's the one that was sent back in time by the Ancients with my DNA – with my baby, if you will – and she's the one that gave birth to him, and is raising him."  
  
"What!?" Shawn looked horrified. "Where is he, Jack? I have a _brother_, and no one told me about him?" He started to stand up, but Jack's hand went from the top of his head down to take hold of his hand, holding him in a firm grip so he couldn't bolt. God! He had a brother! Some kid who was part alien, and even worse, part _Jack_! When Shawn would give anything to be Jack's son, he suddenly found out that there was some kid out there who actually was! It was so unfair!  
  
"_Let me go, Jack_!"  
  
"No, Shawn, sit down."  
  
"NO!"  
  
Tears were welling up in Shawn's eyes, now, and he struggled against Jack's powerful grip, trying to break loose of the hand that was holding his.  
  
Jack pulled him into his embrace, wrapping his arms around the struggling boy and holding him tightly.  
  
"Shawn, listen to me," Jack said, pressing his cheek against the boy's and feeling the wetness of tears. He'd done a shitty job of explaining this, but he was almost done, now, so he was going to finish it. "It's _you_. I didn't introduce the two of you because I can't. It's you. _You're_ my son. You _don't_ have a brother. It's you." 


	9. 09

He felt Shawn's tense body tighten even more, if that was possible, and Jack hoped the boy wasn't about to implode. It wasn't how he'd wanted to tell him, and he was sure he'd done it about as badly as he could. Proving yet again why Jack wasn't the ambassador to some far off country. He was no good at sensitive stuff.  
  
"I'm sorry, Shawn," Jack said, softly, even though his grip on Shawn never loosened.  
  
Sorry? Shawn's very agile mind was numb and frozen. He had a million questions, but couldn't even get them to go through his mind, much less out in the open to ask them. All that he kept hearing was Jack's voice saying it was him. He was the boy Jack had been talking about. The one that Shawn had been so jealous of for only a few moments, but long enough that it'd seemed to be hours. Days, even.  
  
It'd been bad enough when his mother had told him that James wasn't really his father. Shawn had thought the whole world was going to crash down on him, especially since she'd had more to say and he'd been afraid that it was going to get worse. That she was going to tell him that she wasn't... Then he realized that it did just get worse.  
  
"Mom's not my mom, then, is she, Jack...?" Shawn said in a near whisper. She couldn't be. Not if he was Jack's son because of the machine that took his DNA.  
  
"Of course she is."  
  
Jack shifted his grip on Shawn, pulling the boy around into a much more comfortable position for both of them.  
  
"But you said that the... the boy – me – is... I'm an _alien_?"  
  
Holy _shit_! _He was an alien_! Shawn tried to draw back once more as that realization hit him as well. Really hit him. So hard that he felt all the blood rushing out of his face and he was suddenly light-headed.  
  
Jack had noticed immediately, of course, and pulled Shawn even closer, pressing a tender kiss against his cheek before he could start to panic. He'd paled so quickly, it was scary, even for Jack, who was used to dealing with shocky people. Just not shocky little people.  
  
"Shawn! Shawn..." Jack controlled his voice a little, calming himself so he wouldn't frighten the boy.  
  
"Listen to me, okay?" He ran his fingers through the boy's hair, trying to calm him down, and trying to get that tense little body to relax a little. "First of all, Dotty really _is_ your mother. She is. Remember those half Asgard, half Ancients we were talking about? She's one of their descendants. She's your mother. She's just not human." Not even a little human. "She gave birth to you." Did he feel the boy relax? Just a little? Jack wasn't sure, but he kept talking. "Yes, that means you're _not_ all human, but does it really matter? You know aliens. You've seen some. Teal'c is an alien. Thor is, too. You know it's just a word. It has nothing to do with what kind of person you are. What kind of man you'll become..."  
  
"I'm not human, Jack..."  
  
"You're half human, Shawn," O'Neill corrected him. "Half me, half Dotty."  
  
There was silence, but Jack was quiet, giving Shawn time. He'd needed time when he'd first learned this, as well, so he could understand the need to think things through. Since Shawn was pretty much sprawled on Jack, now, with O'Neill's arms tightly enclosing him, he wasn't concerned the boy was going to bolt, so he just held him, and waited.  
  
Oh, God, oh God, oh God.... Shawn wasn't sure whether to panic, or to scream, or to be happy. He was an alien. _An alien_! An Ancient mixed with a little bit of Asgard. But also mixed with a lot of _Jack_. He was Jack's son. Like Charlie, only alive and able to be there for Jack like the other boy never would be. But he was an alien. _His mom was an alien_! She didn't look anything like the Asgard. He wondered if the Ancients looked so much like the Humans, then, or if she was wearing some kind of mom mask. Of course, Shawn didn't look like an alien – he knew that – so the Ancients had to look like Humans. Far more like them than the Asgard did.  
  
His mind was taking over. Thinking things through like the Asgard had been teaching him to do. Okay. He was an alien, but it wasn't that bad. It wasn't like he had green blood, or anything. But he wasn't human. He wondered if that was going to keep him from joining the Air Force. _That_ thought frightened him.  
  
"What's going to happen to me, Jack?" The question was spoken softly, but O'Neill could hear fear in Shawn's voice.  
  
"Nothing's going to happen to you, Shawn. _Nothing_." Jack put his hand under the boy's chin, forcing him to look at him, and he saw fear there, as well, in those brown eyes that everyone kept telling him were so much like his own. Of course they were. "This doesn't change anything."  
  
"It changes _everything_..." Shawn tried to lower his eyes, but Jack's hand was stopping him from doing it. "I won't be able to go to the Air Force Academy. They're not going to let a freak-"  
  
"Don't you _ever_ say that, Shawn." Jack's voice was angry, and the boy flinched despite himself, even though he knew Jack would never hurt him.  
  
"You're not a freak. If I ever hear you calling yourself that again, I'll..." Again he couldn't think of anything vile enough to threaten the boy with. Jack had always been terrible at empty threats. Great at real ones, but terrible at the ones he didn't mean. "I'll smother you in syrup and give you to Jaffer."  
  
The black lab's head came up when he heard his name, and Shawn smiled despite his fears. Like Jack had hoped he would.  
  
"Shawn, listen to me. You're not a freak. You're no different than you were this morning. You're a wonderful kid, who's going to go to the Air Force Academy, become an Air Force officer and do whatever you want to do with your life. No one's going to make you be anything you don't want to be, and no one – including your mother and me – is going to tell you what to do with your life."  
  
"But what about the Ancients' plan-"?  
  
"Not even that. If whatever it is involves something you're not willing to do, then you're not going to do it." Jack told him. "No one will force you to. No one _can_ force you to, because they'd have to go through me first."  
  
There it was. It had always been there, and Shawn had always known about it, even when he didn't recognize it for what it was. Jack always put himself between Shawn and whatever danger – real or perceived – might be out there. He always made sure he knew what was going on with Shawn and the Asgard, and while Shawn had always thought it was a subtle reminder of how he'd almost got himself killed screwing around with technology behind Jack's back, it wasn't. It was that fierce protectiveness that Jack felt towards him. He saw it all the time with Jack and Jaffer, and with Jack and Sam, too.  
  
"How long have you known?"  
  
He was finally starting to relax. Jack could feel the tenseness leaving his body.  
  
"A couple months."  
  
"Sam knows?"  
  
Jack nodded.  
  
"She doesn't care?"  
  
"Nope. She loves you. Why would she care? I told you, Shawn. It's just a word. The person you are is what decides what people think of you. Like the difference between an Asgard and a Goa'uld. Both are aliens, right? But one I'd trust, and one I'd never go near, if I had my choice."  
  
"But my mom is _really_ my mom?"  
  
"She's really your mom." Jack confirmed.  
  
"I'm really your son?"  
  
Jack nodded. "You can't really tell anyone, though, Shawn. It'd raise a whole bunch of questions that we're not ready to answer. Not even everyone at the SGC knows."  
  
"Does Thor know?"  
  
Jack shook his head.  
  
"Then I won't tell him."  
  
"Good." Jack pressed another kiss against the boy's cheek, grateful that he didn't seem to be too upset anymore. He was also relieved that it was finally out in the open. Good or bad, the boy had a right to know what and who he was.  
  
"Does my dad... I mean... James-"  
  
"He's your dad, Shawn," Jack said.  
  
"Does he know?"  
  
Jack shook his head again.  
  
"Does he know mom's not human?"  
  
"No. Which is why he doesn't know you're my son, because there'd be a lot to explain, and your mom isn't sure how to explain it. She wasn't sure how to explain it to you, either."  
  
"Is that what she was going to do earlier?"  
  
Jack nodded.  
  
"I made a mess of that, didn't I?" He grimaced. "I reacted badly, and ran away. I can't believe how dumb I am, sometimes."  
  
Jack smiled. The boy was far from dumb.  
  
"You're young."  
  
"Meaning all young things are dumb?"  
  
"Meaning you're allowed to make a mistake, or fly off the handle sometimes." 


	10. 10

They were quiet for a long time. Jack was allowing Shawn a chance to think things through, and Shawn was gathering his scattered thoughts.  
  
Jack was his father. What were the odds of that happening? The one person – besides James – that Shawn really, really wanted to be related to, and it turns out he is? Shawn thought the world of Jack. Looked up to him since the day they'd met. Had wanted to be like him since he'd first learned that Jack was in the Military. Now, he found out that he was Jack's son. Technically. Although Jack kept insisting that James was really his dad, and Shawn understood that, as well. James had raised Shawn as his own son, after all, and Shawn really loved him. No matter if he was his biological father or not, he'd always call him dad.  
  
"What do I call you, then, Jack?" Shawn asked, allowing the question in his mind to become verbal.  
  
Jack shrugged. "I guess you keep calling me Jack," he said.  
  
Shawn leaned his head against Jack's chest.  
  
"So can you sign my progress reports from school, then? And give me permission to go on field trips?"  
  
"Nope. Only your mom and dad can do that."  
  
"What if I ever need a kidney?"  
  
"That I could do."  
  
Shawn smiled. It would do.  
  
"I'm sorry I yelled at you."  
  
O'Neill shrugged. "You had a reason to." He ruffled his fingers through Shawn's hair. "You're going to have to learn to listen to people, though, you know? Even when they're telling you something you don't want to hear. Running off – like you did with your mom earlier, and like you tried to do with me a little bit ago – that's a good way to get yourself into trouble."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"I know, Shawn. It's okay."  
  
They were quiet for a while longer, just sitting together on the couch, when something else occurred to Shawn.  
  
"So..." He paused, looking up at Jack, who looked down at him.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Do I have any powers?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"You know... I'm part alien, right?"  
  
"Right."  
  
"So do I have any powers?"  
  
"Super powers, you mean? Like Superman?"  
  
Shawn nodded, eagerly.  
  
"No."  
  
Awww...  
  
"None?"  
  
Jack shook his head.  
  
"I've never seen your mom flying, or racing speeding bullets, and I've never seen her read minds or call down lightning. So chances are, you can't do any of those things, either."  
  
"That sucks."  
  
"Sorry."  
  
Shawn sighed, and leaned against Jack's side.  
  
"Not even a little Mind-Melding, like Mr. Spock?"  
  
"I don't think so, Shawn. You might ask your mother, though."  
  
He nodded. He would. Hopefully there'd be some benefit to being an alien. It didn't sound so bad, he supposed. It helped that he'd been hanging out with so many alien races lately. Not just the Asgard, but also Teal'c and Bra'tac, and a lot of the Jaffa. Alien was just a word, like Jack said. It was how a person acted that mattered. That was how he'd be judged by those around him.  
  
"Did you have dinner?" Jack asked, before Shawn could think of any other question to ask. Now that the worry over telling Shawn had been taken care of, and the panic that was Shawn's initial reaction had been smoothed over, Jack was suddenly hungrier than he'd been in days. Far hungrier than a mere bowl of ice cream could handle – especially since he hadn't eaten much of that, either.  
  
Shawn nodded.  
  
"I'm starved. Think you could eat again?"  
  
Shawn grinned and nodded again, and the two of them got up and headed for the kitchen, followed closely by Jaffer, who never missed an opportunity like that. Jack opened the fridge as Shawn ducked under his arm to look inside as well, and they both grimaced.  
  
"I thought you told Sam you were going to clean this out?"  
  
"I thought I'd wait and see if you had any superpowers that might help with this sort of thing..."  
  
They both smiled, and Shawn felt a lot more at ease. Jack was willing to joke about it, which meant that he was fine with things. And really, if Jack was okay with him being an alien, why shouldn't Shawn be? _Half_ alien, he reminded himself. _Half Jack_.  
  
"I'd have to ask my mom," Shawn said, shrugging.  
  
"Well, it'll wait." Jack reached for the milk, and opened it, smelling it tentatively, and putting it back on the shelf.  
  
"So... how does a pizza sound?"  
  
"Eating out? Or in?"  
  
"You want to go out?"  
  
Shawn shook his head. He was a little tired, and he'd had a rough day. He'd rather not face anyone else just then. Not even a waitress.  
  
"I'll call and order one. You go find us something on TV."  
  
Just like that, things were okay between the two of them. There were still questions, of course. Things that would have to be answered, both on Jack's part and on Shawn's, but really, they were, for the most part, small things in the whole grand scheme of life. Jack was okay. Shawn was okay. Their relationship was still intact.  
  
Shawn went into the living room, trailed by Jaffer, and Jack watched as the two of them plopped down on the couch. The boy reached for the remote control, and Jaffer sniffed it, making sure it wasn't something edible. Satisfied, he flopped down, leaning slightly against Shawn, who was braced against the arm of the couch. Shawn flipped through the channels while Jack picked up the phone and a few minutes later, Jack joined the two on the couch, nodding his approval at the show Shawn had picked for them to watch.  
  
Both of them made room for him when Jack sat down. Jaffer took one side, his big head resting on Jack's thigh, and Shawn stretched out on the other side, resting his head on the other leg. Jack smiled, wondering what in the world he'd ever done so right that he deserved the affection of the people he loved most. All that was missing in this picture was Sam. 


	11. 11

Shawn didn't stay awake long enough to have any pizza. When the knock on the door came – yes, Jack had a doorbell, but no one ever seemed to use it – Jaffer smoothly got off the couch and waited at the door for Jack to get up and meet him there. Jack looked down at the boy, who'd fallen asleep and was now drooling on his slacks, and had carefully gotten up without disturbing him, leaving him stretched out on the sofa with a throw pillow under his head in lieu of Jack's leg.  
  
Jaffer's tail was wagging so hard by the time Jack made it to the door that his entire back end was writhing, and Jack grinned. Obviously the dog's sharp nose could smell the pizza, since he'd never seen him that excited about many other things.  
  
He opened the door with a quick motion that told Jaffer to stay right where he was. The lab did as he was told, although it was obvious – even to the delivery guy – that he wanted nothing more than to jump up, steal the pizza and take off with it.  
  
Jack took the pizza with a smile, paid and tipped the guy, then closed the door and headed for the table. He briefly considered waking up Shawn, but it wasn't like the boy was hungry, and it was obvious he was tired. Instead, Jack went to the guest room, pulled back the blankets and made sure there wasn't too many, since it was a nice evening. Then, with Jaffer literally dogging his every step, he went to the couch, picked up his son and carefully carried him into the guest room and put him to bed. He tucked Shawn in, knowing there weren't going to be a lot of chances to do that, and turned off the light, although he didn't shut the door.  
  
Then he and his dog went to the dining room where Jack took a slice and put it on a plate and stuck it in the fridge – that would be for Shawn if he happened to wake up. The rest of the pizza joined Jack and Jaffer in the living room, and between the hungry Colonel and the always-hungry black lab, it was quickly demolished.  
  
Satisfied by more than just the quality of the food, Jack made sure to pick up the pizza box – since otherwise it would be in a million pieces the next morning – and then he and Jaffer went to bed.  
  
........................  
  
Sleeping in on Saturday morning was one of Jack's favorite little pleasures in life. He didn't get to do it all that often. There weren't all that many Saturday mornings when he actually had the opportunity. Sometimes he was off-world. Sometimes he was stuck on base and that wasn't an option there. Sometimes Sam was over, and Jack liked to wake up early, so he could watch her sleeping next to him. And then there were the times that Jaffer decided he absolutely was going to die if Jack didn't wake up at 5 AM to let him out to pee.  
  
This Saturday morning was one of those days. Jack was woken up exactly the same way Jaffer always woke him up; he was straddling Jack, and staring down at him intently. Some might think that being stared at while asleep could hardly be something that could wake a person up, but when the person was Jack, who was always so much on edge when he was sleeping anyways, just having the feeling of being watched was enough to break in on pretty much any dream. Even the one he'd been having that morning.  
  
He opened his eyes with a sigh, and reached up to automatically fend off Jaffer's licking. Once the lab knew he was awake, the next thing he always thought Jack needed was a bath, and that tongue could be devastating. His bath plans foiled, Jaffer plopped down on Jack, resting on his chest, and snuffling him until he was certain he was awake.  
  
"I'm awake..." Jack mumbled, sleepily. "You big cow."  
  
Ah yes! There it was. Jack had spoken. Jaffer wagged his tail, knowing his plan had worked and he'd soon be let out the door. He stood up, moving off Jack's chest and allowing the Colonel to roll over and sit up, rubbing his face, tiredly.  
  
"You're going to go to the pound..." Jack threatened, like he did every day. He reached out and rubbed Jaffer's side, though. Like he'd ever do anything like that to his baby. "Come on, little man. If it's that important..."  
  
Oh it _was_!  
  
Jaffer jumped off the bed and headed for the sliding glass door, while Jack made his way a little slower. Eventually, he made it, and opened the door for Jaffer, who ran around the yard, checking to make sure everything was exactly like it'd been the night before. Jack headed for the bathroom while he waited for Jaffer to finish his explorations, then he checked on Shawn to make sure he was still asleep. Which he was. Jack leaned against the door and watched him for a few moments, just enjoying one of those quiet moments in life that didn't happen so often that they were to be wasted.  
  
He was interrupted by a cold nose stuck against the small of his back, and Jack shivered slightly as he looked down at the oh so cheerful dog. Jaffer had peed, and now was ready to eat. Silently, so they wouldn't bother Shawn, Jack went down the hall with Jaffer and filled the dog's food dish.  
  
"Nothing but dog food," Jack told him as Jaffer waited for the good stuff to be brought out. "I'm not ready for breakfast, so that'll have to do until I'm ready to cook."  
  
Yeah, that wasn't going to happen. They'd probably end up eating out, if Jack's refrigerator was any sign of what they had to eat.  
  
"I'm going back to bed."  
  
He ignored Jaffer's sigh of displeasure, ignored the pleading look in the soft brown eyes, and headed back to his room. Behind him, he could hear the tell-tale crunching of Jaffer eating dog food. 


	12. 12

"Jack?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Are you going to sleep all day?"  
  
Jack opened one eye, and looked at Shawn, who was kneeling next to his bed, half on, half off it. Beside the boy was Jaffer, whose head easily topped the edge of the bed now. Both were looking at him with big brown eyes, although there was far more mischief in Jaffer's. Jack reached out and hooked an arm around Shawn and pulled him up onto the bed with him.  
  
"What time is it?" He asked, sleepily.  
  
"Noon."  
  
"Noon?"  
  
"Twelve O'clock." Shawn clarified as Jaffer jumped up to join the two of them, flopping down on Jack. "PM."  
  
"I know what noon means, Mr. Smarty Pants."  
  
Shawn grinned. "You asked."  
  
Wow, he'd really slept far later than he'd intended to. The product of several sleepless nights, he supposed. Eventually they'd catch up to anyone.  
  
"Did you have breakfast?"  
  
"I had a bowl of cereal."  
  
"You didn't use that milk in the fridge, did you?"  
  
"No, I had it dry."  
  
"Why didn't you eat the slice of pizza I saved you?"  
  
"I dropped it."  
  
They both looked at Jaffer, who looked back, innocently.  
  
"We'd better get you fed, then, hmm?"  
  
Shawn nodded.  
  
"Out or in?"  
  
With what he had in the fridge? If there was food to be made in the house, Shawn wouldn't be hungry.  
  
"Out. Definitely out."  
  
Smart ass. Jack grinned. That was his boy, all right.  
  
"Let me get dressed, and we'll go get something to eat."  
  
...................  
  
Twenty minutes later they loaded Jaffer into the back of Jack's truck and headed out. Shawn was in the passenger seat, playing cup holder for Jack's coffee and secretly enjoying all the looks that Jaffer brought from people in the other cars around them. The big lab flirted outrageously with everyone around him every time they stopped at a light, and anyone who had a window was game for the dog's attention.  
  
By the time they'd reached the closest burger place, Jack figured he'd probably broken a dozen hearts and made at least that many dates. They pulled through the drive thru, but then Jack parked the truck once they got their order, and they ate at the picnic tables; Jaffer in close attendance, especially since Jack had him on his leash. Even as well trained as Jaffer was, Jack would never have risked him with so many cars around, and so many stupid people. If he could have swung it, Shawn would have been leashed, too.  
  
They ate in silence for a while, but Shawn was obviously thinking about their conversation of the night before, and after looking around to make sure there was no one around, he brought it up.  
  
"You know what _I_ think, Jack?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"I think the Asgard have some kind of genetic problem."  
  
Jack threw Jaffer a couple of fries, which were caught neatly, and looked at Shawn.  
  
"What makes you say that?"  
  
Shawn shrugged.  
  
"If I'm supposed to be part of the solution to their problem, and I have to be part Asgard, part Ancient and part Human, then it has to be something like that. Especially since Thor and the Asgard have me learning more sciences than anything else. Not Genetics, but I bet they will be, eventually, once I get to that stage."  
  
It was Jack's turn to shrug. He didn't know all that much about Genetics. Which was why he still didn't understand how Jaffer and Jack could manage to be different colors even though they both had a black lab mother.  
  
"Your guess is as good as mine, Shawn." Actually his guess was probably a lot _better_ than Jack's, since Jack didn't know (and really, aside from the fact that Shawn was involved, he didn't actually care). "I'm sure Thor plans on letting you in on the secret eventually."  
  
"When he does, I'll make sure you know, too, Jack."  
  
O'Neill nodded, and tossed Jaffer the last bite of his burger.  
  
"You ready to head out?" He asked, putting the wrapper in the bag. "I promised your mom I wouldn't keep you all day."  
  
Shawn looked down at his last bite of burger, and over at Jaffer, who was also looking at that last, tasty morsel, and he tossed the piece at the dog, who caught it neatly. The boy grinned.  
  
"All set."  
  
Jack laughed and they threw away their garbage and loaded Jaffer back into the truck.  
  
................  
  
It was yard work day at the Adams' house. When they pulled up to Shawn's house and pulled into the driveway behind James' Jeep, Jack and Shawn saw that James was mowing the grass, and Dotty was working in her flowerbed.  
  
"You go tell your dad hi," Jack said, as Dotty looked up and smiled at them when they got out of the truck. "I want to talk to your mom."  
  
"She'll probably be pretty relieved that I know, huh?"  
  
Not nearly as relieved as Jack was. He nodded, though, and swatted the boy on the rump. Shawn laughed and ran over to see if he could help push the mower, and Jaffer and Jack walked over to Dotty.  
  
"Jaffer!" Dotty pulled off her dirty gloves and rubbed the lab's face affectionately as soon as he was close enough, and Jaffer wagged his tail in greeting. The smile on Dotty's face faded just a little when Jack came up to her, but his face was calm and relaxed, and the smile he wore was genuine, so she relaxed a little as well.  
  
"How did it go?" She asked. "Did you manage to tell him anything?"  
  
Jack nodded. "I told him everything. I think."  
  
Her eyes widened and she looked over at Shawn, who had taken over the mower from his dad, although James was carefully supervising his son while he pushed the machine.  
  
"What did he say? How did you break it to him?"  
  
"I told him the same way you told me," Jack explained. "Although I probably didn't do nearly as good a job, so chances are you'll need to fill in some blanks."  
  
Dotty smiled. "What did he say?"  
  
"He was a bit upset at first. Called himself a freak – which I told him to never do again, so I'd appreciate it if you keep watch for him doing that."  
  
Dotty nodded.  
  
"Beyond that, he took it well. Probably better than I did, especially considering I probably messed it up so badly I'm surprised he doesn't think he's Goa'uld."  
  
Dotty smiled. There was so much relief in her expression that Jack was glad he'd offered to tell Shawn. Despite the fact that he had managed to confuse the boy at first, he probably didn't do so badly.  
  
"I'll bet you did a lot better than you think."  
  
Jack shrugged.  
  
"Do you want to stay for a while?"  
  
"And help with yard work?" Jack's expression turned to one of horror, and he held up his hands and backed away slowly. "No thanks. Jaffer and I have a hot date."  
  
"Sam back in town?"  
  
"Nah, but there's a couple of ducks at the park who have been teasing me, and I told them the next time they did, I was going to bring my big ole mean dog and show them what's what."  
  
Dotty looked over at Jaffer, who was being chased by a bumblebee.  
  
"Uh huh."  
  
Jack smiled.  
  
"He's mean on the inside."  
  
"Oh, I'm sure he is."  
  
"I'll see you guys later this week, probably. Unless we get called off- world."  
  
"Sure you don't want to stay?"  
  
Jack nodded. "Thanks, though."  
  
He looked over and saw that James and Shawn were both looking in his direction, and waved at them. They waved back, and Jack called Jaffer over to his side.  
  
"Thank you, Jack." Dotty's voice was so sincere that Jack didn't even think of a quip. He just nodded, and took her hand for a second.  
  
"Hey, that's my job, right?"  
  
She smiled, and squeezed his hand, then waved as he turned and opened the passenger door for Jaffer. 


	13. 13

They spent the rest of the afternoon in the park. It was a nice day, and there were a lot of other people there, so Jack kept Jaffer on his leash most of the time, but that didn't stop people from coming up to them. Jaffer drew a lot of attention pretty much everywhere they went, but Jack was used to that by now. He gave all the kids that came up a chance to pet Jaffer, who hammed it up extravagantly, showing off his tricks when Jack would ask him to, and just being the friendly soul he normally was when he wasn't asked to do tricks.  
  
The active people in the park kept Jack from sitting and brooding like he might have, given the fact that it was the day before Father's day, which was normally a tough day for him. Instead, he was forced to be social, since he was confronted by mostly children. Jack had never turned a kid down when they asked to pet Jaffer, and never would.  
  
He decided that the relaxing day in the park would best be ended by a good steak, and then decided the best way to get a good steak was to make it himself. Which meant a trip to the store.  
  
He bought all the fixings for a good barbeque: A couple of steaks – one for him, one for Jaffer – a couple potatoes for baking, and thinking that Sam would be proud, he even bought the makings of a simple salad – although even as the woman at the checkout counter was ringing it up, he was pretty certain he wasn't going to eat it.  
  
He was already in the truck, with Jaffer sniffing the bag to see if there was anything in it for him, when he realized he forgot to buy milk, but Jack wasn't going to go back. He'd remember it another day – which was why the milk in his fridge was spoiled in the first place.  
  
The steaks turned out perfect. The potato wasn't too bad, and the salad sat in his fridge with his spoiled milk. He was just getting ready to cut Jaffer's up when the black lab's head came up and his tail started wagging idly. With that much notice, Jack turned just as Daniel came through the back gate.  
  
"Hey, Jack."  
  
"Daniel."  
  
Daniel had been worried about Jack all day, and had tried calling him a few times to try and get him to go out for dinner or something with him, but there hadn't been an answer, since Jack was at the park. Eventually, he'd decided he'd come over, and see if Jack was just avoiding his calls.  
  
"I tried knocking."  
  
"We've been back here."  
  
Obviously.  
  
"Barbeque?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Looks good."  
  
Yeah, that was a subtle hint.  
  
Jack smiled. "Would you like to stay for dinner, Daniel?"  
  
"I thought you'd never ask."  
  
"Go get the other potato out of my fridge."  
  
Daniel vanished into the house, followed closely by Jaffer, who never passed an opportunity to look in the fridge. A minute later, he was outside again, carrying the potato in one hand and a small handful of dog treats in the other.  
  
"You know your milk is spoiled?"  
  
Jack nodded.  
  
"I meant to get more, but forgot it. Did you want some?"  
  
"No, that's okay. I'll have a beer."  
  
Daniel handed Jack his potato, then amused himself by tossing treats to Jaffer and watching the lab catch them while he waited for his dinner to be finished.  
  
"How are you doing, Jack?" He asked as Jaffer gobbled the last treat.  
  
"I'm fine, Daniel. Did Fraiser send you out here?"  
  
"No, not really." Daniel shrugged. "I was just... um..."  
  
"Checking on me," Jack finished for him.  
  
"Yeah." No sense in denying it. "You've been looking a little... um... peaked... lately."  
  
"Peaked, huh?"  
  
"You know; tired, worn out, a little fatig-"  
  
"I know what the word means, Daniel."  
  
He shook his head, and dished up Daniel a plate; complete with the steak he was going to feed Jaffer. The lab could have some of Jack's and wouldn't mind sharing. Jack wasn't mad at Daniel for being worried. Hell, he wasn't even irritated. Not really. Jack worried about the people around him constantly, it'd hardly be right for him to get mad because someone else was doing it to him.  
  
"I'm fine, Daniel," Jack told him, handing him his plate, and leading the younger man into the house so they could get a couple beers. "It's just been a rough couple of days, that's all."  
  
"Care to talk about it?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
Ah well, it was worth a try. Daniel shrugged, and accepted a beer from Jack, then sat at the table with him and changed the subject to something else completely, while he watched O'Neill cut a few pieces of his steak to hand down to Jaffer.  
  
"What did you do today?"  
  
"Went to the park. You?"  
  
Called your house repeatedly. He couldn't really admit to that, though.  
  
"Worked on some ancient runes SG-3 found last week."  
  
"Anything interesting?"  
  
"Maybe."  
  
This launched Daniel into his lecture mode, and he started telling Jack all that he knew about the runes, and the ruins that they'd been found on. Jack listened without interrupting like he normally would have. First because it was a good way to keep Daniel from interrogating him about how he felt, and second, because he found he was rather enjoying the company, and wasn't ready to drive him away just yet.  
  
The two of them sat at the table until well after the sun was down, talking mostly about Daniel's work, although sometimes they'd discuss something SG- 1 had found that was sort of related to what he was working on. All in all, it was a good way to spend the evening, and Jack found that his day had been far better than he'd expected. By the time Daniel left – well after midnight – Jack was tired, and ready for bed, and knew far more than he cared to know about P32-KR1 and its inhabitants. And didn't mind a bit.  
  
He showered while Jaffer went out for the last time that night, then the two of them went to bed, and Jack didn't lie awake, staring at the dark ceiling while he thought about Charlie, or Shawn, or what might have been.  
  
He'd just drifted into sleep when Jaffer's head came up off his thigh, and his tail thumped the bed in greeting. Sam smiled her own greeting at the black lab, but motioned for him to be quiet as she slid under the covers beside her sleeping CO and cuddled up against his back, wrapping her arm loosely around him and caressing his bare stomach.  
  
He woke immediately, of course, and rolled over, gathering her into his arms and holding her tightly.  
  
"You're home? Or am I dreaming you?"  
  
His voice was sleepy, and she smiled even though he couldn't see the smile, since he hadn't opened his eyes.  
  
"I'm home, Jack." 


	14. 14

When he opened his eyes, he almost expected to be alone in his bed; certain that he'd actually dreamed her joining him. He wasn't though. She was still beside him, sleeping peacefully and comfortably tangled up with him in a jumble of arms and legs.  
  
He watched her sleep, wondering what she was doing there, when he was sure she wasn't supposed to be back until the next morning. She hadn't said too much to him when she'd joined him in bed. He'd been sleepy, and she had been flat out exhausted, so the two of them had simply fallen asleep without much more discussion.  
  
As though she felt his gaze even while she slept, Sam's eyes opened only a moment later. He felt a thrill inside him when their eyes met, and then a lifting of his very soul when she smiled at him. The smile that was meant only for him.  
  
"Good morning."  
  
He smiled, reaching out and touching her cheek, as though to make sure she really was real.  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
Sam's smile turned into a grin.  
  
"I'm very happy to see you, too."  
  
"You know what I mean," Jack told her, tapping her lightly on the nose. "I thought you weren't coming back until tomorrow?"  
  
"I forgot what day it was," Sam said, seriously. "I can't believe I left you alone this weekend."  
  
Jack shook his head, as if to deny that he'd been alone, but Sam didn't give him a chance.  
  
"Dad mentioned it yesterday – told me it was a pleasant surprise that he'd actually get a chance to spend Father's Day with me." She shook her head, looking guilty. "I packed up my stuff and came back as soon as I could."  
  
"You left Jacob?" Jack asked. "After he'd said how nice it was that he was spending time with you?"  
  
"Of course not. I brought him home with me. He's at the base. We'll spend time with him today."  
  
Jack nodded, feeling a little better. Not that he didn't love the fact that she was here, but he would have felt like shit if Jacob had to miss out on her company just so Jack could have it.  
  
"I'm glad you're home."  
  
She smiled, running her finger along his cheek, then his jaw.  
  
"You look a little tired. Have you been taking care of yourself?"  
  
Jack nodded.  
  
"You know me."  
  
"Yes, I do. Which is why I asked."  
  
He sighed. "I wouldn't have minded having you here the last few days," he admitted. "Things were a bit... crazy."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
Jack looked at his watch. It was still early. They had plenty of time for a long story. Besides, he didn't have anywhere he had to be.  
  
"Dotty decided it was time for Shawn to find out."  
  
Sam didn't have to ask what he was talking about. There was only one secret that Dotty was keeping. She was wide awake instantly.  
  
"What did he say? How did he react?"  
  
"It's a long story, Sam." He warned her. "Do you want to hear it here? Or over breakfast?"  
  
"Here."  
  
He nodded, and shifted a little to get more comfortable, then launched into the story, beginning with the call Dotty had made to Jack only a few hours after Sam had gone off-world.  
  
Sam was quiet during all of it, knowing that if she interrupted, he'd have trouble retracing the story to where she'd stopped him, but her eyes were wide with surprise, and there was more than a little consternation in her expression. She'd definitely left him at the worst possible time. And had left him to face something alone that she hadn't thought they'd face for a couple more years.  
  
"Wow."  
  
It was all she could say by the time he was finished.  
  
Jack shrugged.  
  
"I probably could have done a better job explaining it to him, but at least he knows."  
  
She nodded. It actually sounded to her like Jack had done a great job, but she wasn't going to bother telling him that. He'd just deny it, anyways.  
  
"I'm sorry I wasn't here."  
  
"Me too."  
  
"Are you all right?"  
  
"Me?" He was surprised by the question. "Of course I am."  
  
Of course...  
  
"Uh huh." She didn't really buy that, but she wasn't going to press the issue. He wouldn't dream of asking to spend time with Shawn on Father's Day – not when as far as Jack was concerned, James was Shawn's dad. Jack acknowledged and loved the fact that he'd fathered such a wonderful kid, but he hadn't been there to change diapers, or teach him how to throw a ball, and no matter how much he'd eventually try to make up for all that lost time, there would always be the simple fact that Jack wouldn't ever try to take over James' role as Shawn's father.  
  
Sam understood all that. She probably understood it better than Jack did, even. She knew because she knew what kind of man Jack was.  
  
"What did you learn on your little trip?"  
  
He was trying to change the subject, and she smiled, and let him.  
  
"Do you really want to know?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
She started to tell him, but his eyes glazed over almost immediately at all the technical terms, and Sam relented after only a few minutes. It was so much fun to do that to him. Half the time she just made stuff up, just to see how long it would take for him to fall asleep.  
  
"I was thinking we could go over to Janet's and spend the day with her and Cassie..."  
  
She'd been trying to think of ways to distract him from the day as soon as she'd realized what day it was. Long before she and Jacob had returned through the gate. Since Cassie and Janet usually spent Father's Day the same way they spent Mother's Day, it was a sure bet they'd be home, and maybe even barbequeing.  
  
"Did you talk to her?"  
  
"Cassie?"  
  
"Janet."  
  
"Nope. Do they have other plans?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sure they're probably planning on ending up over here sometime today. Fraiser sent Daniel over to check on me last night."  
  
She smiled. He was probably right, then. First Janet would send someone else then she'd come and double-check herself.  
  
"I'll call her," Sam told him. "Do you want to go over there?"  
  
"Sure. Whatever you want to do."  
  
She smiled, and ran her hand along his chest, then lower, over his hard stomach, and lower still... It was still early, and since they were both awake anyways...  
  
"Whatever...?"  
  
He felt his heartbeat quicken. They had things to do that day; places to go, people to see, but at that moment, Jack had only one person on his mind. He smiled, and kissed her softly. Everything else could wait. After all, it was his day, right?  
  
"Whatever..." 


	15. Epilogue

"Jack!"  
  
The front door opened with a loud bang, startling Jack and nearly making him jump out of his skin. He'd been sitting on the sofa, flipping through channels, and since Jaffer was outside, he hadn't had any warning that anyone was coming. He hadn't even heard the car doors slam. He wondered if they'd _tried_ to sneak up on him.  
  
Shawn came diving over the back of the couch, landing next to Jack with a big grin on his face, and Jaffer came pelting in through the open sliding glass door to give Sam a greeting as she came through the front door only moments behind Shawn, although far more controlled. The Major was carrying a large, flat package in one hand, and her smile was just as broad as Shawn's. And just as welcoming.  
  
"Hey, kiddo." Jack reached over and ruffled Shawn's hair then turned and greeted Sam with a smile.  
  
"Where have you two been?"  
  
"Picking up your Father's Day present."  
  
He frowned, looking over at Shawn.  
  
"That was last weekend."  
  
"_Duh_."  
  
Didn't they just _know_ that?  
  
Jack looked over at Sam, confused, but he couldn't help but smile again. She had such a wonderful expression on her face; a mixture of happy anticipation, and just a little mischief. It was hard to not smile at that. Shawn's face looked equally pleased.  
  
"You got me a present?"  
  
"It was Shawn's idea."  
  
He looked over at the boy, who was rubbing Jaffer's face, and trying not to look too pleased with himself.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Well, what?"  
  
"Where is it?"  
  
"Sam has it."  
  
He looked over his shoulder again, and saw that Carter hadn't walked over to the sofa to join him and Shawn. Instead she'd gone over to the Wall.  
  
Almost everyone has an 'I love me' wall. It's a wall that holds their degrees, diplomas, pictures pf their graduations, things like that. Jack didn't. Oh, he had his degrees somewhere in a nice frame stashed in his desk, and his Air Force commission was framed and in a drawer somewhere as well, along with the citations that went along with all his various medals and ribbons he'd earned during his Military career. But those weren't the things that Jack was the most proud of, and they weren't the things that he showcased on his Wall.  
  
_His_ Wall was filled with pictures. And almost every one of those pictures was of Jaffer. There was a picture of Jack lying sprawled across a bed, dressed in only a pair of sweats and his favorite necklace, looking as though he'd only just woken up. Next to him in the bed was a large black lab, at whose side was a swarming mass of puppies. Seven buffed colored ones, and two little black ones. This was Jack's very first picture of him and Jaffer, and it was one of his favorites.  
  
Surrounding that picture were many, many more. Pictures of a fuzzy black puppy sitting in the middle of a chewed up bathroom floor. Pictures of the same fuzzy puppy running in the park with another fuzzy puppy – this one blonde – chasing balls and sticks and each other. There were pictures of Jaffer posing. Pictures of Jaffer that chronicled his growing years; some of the cute little puppy he'd been, some of the huge, gorgeous dog he'd become. Almost all of them were of Jaffer, although occasionally there was one of Jack and Jaffer, and even rarer still – since he and Sam couldn't really flaunt their relationship just yet – there was a picture of Sam and Jaffer. There was even one of Shawn and Jaffer.  
  
Hanging neatly on pegs, lined up according to size from small to big, Jack had also showcased Jaffer's collars and leashes. His first collar – a small blue one that had little puppy paw prints. His first leash, which was actually chewed into pieces. A little coat that proudly proclaimed Jaffer to be the world's best puppy. All the way up to sturdy collars and leashes that still had the occasional tooth mark in them.  
  
Basically, it was _Jaffer's_ Wall. But that was going to change.  
  
"Come here, Jack." Sam said, not looking at O'Neill, but looking at the pictures hanging there.  
  
Shawn and Jack both walked over to stand by her, and Jack looked at her, confused.  
  
"What are-"?  
  
Sam handed him the package in her hand, and Jack took it and looked at Shawn and her, smiling despite his confusion. They were both looking way too pleased with themselves. If not for the smiles, he'd have been nervous.  
  
He unwrapped the package, and almost dropped the picture that had been carefully wrapped inside.  
  
It was a picture of Jaffer. Sitting next to Jaffer – obviously at a portrait studio somewhere – was Shawn, and on the other side of Jaffer was Sam. Both were dressed in casual clothing, and both were smiling broadly, as though in anticipation of the giving of the picture to Jack. Jaffer had been groomed until his black coat was shining glossy, and it even reflected the flash of light from the camera. The picture itself was beautifully matted in black and whites, and framed in a delicate but simple black frame that only accentuated just how perfect the people in the picture were.  
  
"Oh..."  
  
He couldn't think of anything to say. Nothing. It was really the greatest gift they could have given him, and it was a measure of how well the two of them knew him that they'd thought of it. In one picture, he had his whole world. Oh, he had _other_ friends, of course, and other interests. But this was the essence of his life, right here in his hands. And in the room watching him as he looked at the picture.  
  
Jack felt the sting of tears, but he forced them down by sheer will. He was _not_ going to cry. Not even for those two. Not if he could help it. Instead, he cleared his throat of the lump that had suddenly sprung up.  
  
"How... when...?"  
  
"When was easy," Sam said, taking the picture from Jack and pulling down a picture of Jaffer sitting in the bathtub. That one would be rehung, since it was adorable, but the one she had in her hand would fit perfectly there. "We had it done while you and Daniel were off-world looking at those ruins Daniel had told you all about."  
  
"You tricked me?"  
  
"You told him you were interested." Sam said, innocently.  
  
"You _told_ me to tell him that. You said it'd make him feel better."  
  
"Oh, yeah..." She shrugged. "Then, yes, I guess you could say I tricked you."  
  
Shawn laughed.  
  
"The _how_ was a little more difficult." Sam said, frowning down at Jaffer, who looked up at her innocently. "He wasn't very cooporative."  
  
"Jaffer?" Jack acted surprised, and Sam stuck her tongue out at him, much to Shawn's amusement.  
  
"We bribed him with everything to get him to sit still." Shawn said. "The camera guy _wasn't_ happy."  
  
Sam hung the picture, and Jack couldn't stop looking at it, even though he had trouble deciding who to look at in the picture the longest.  
  
"Do you like it, Jack?" Shawn asked.  
  
O'Neill nodded, feeling those damned tears trying to sneak past his defenses once more.  
  
"It's great. The best Father's Day present I've ever had."  
  
God, how could he have ever thought he was going to be alone?  
  
_The End_  
  
...............  
  
Author's Note: Okay! So there you have it. Shawn knows who he is, now, and doesn't that open up a whole bunch of possibilities? Well, yeah, it does, but I'm not sure what I'll write, and what I'll leave up to your imaginations. So... what did you like most? Like least? Favorite line? Let me know! Also, let me know what you want to see more of, and I'll consider writing it out for you! 


End file.
